Chapter 1139: Please Leave Your Name
Just as Bohemia had vanished abruptly, Sesame Cake disappeared from the air. Lin Sanjiu squatted on the floor, her gaze fixed on the circular drain for a few moments in bewilderment before she finally muttered a curse and stood up.
"Why are you standing up?" Mrs. Manas asked.
At this point, it seemed that the only way to find her missing companion was to follow suit. After all, where else would she go to find the elusive hospital that may or may not exist?
"Even if I have to jump into a volcano, I can still find a cleaner one. There's no shortage of choices," Lin Sanjiu said gloomily.
From the recent examples of several people being engulfed by lava, it appeared that when the molten rock dripped on them, they would disappear, albeit after an excruciatingly painful burning process. On the other hand, those who inserted a limb into the circle vanished without a sound. Comparing the two options, she naturally preferred the quicker and less painful method.
After emptying the mineral water bottle, she took a deep breath and clenched her teeth, sticking her finger into the bottle's mouth.
One second, two seconds, three seconds...
Nothing happened.
Her finger remained inside the circular bottle, and her skin was slightly moist from the cool water droplets.
Lin Sanjiu opened her eyes, looking somewhat bewildered. She withdrew her finger and attempted twice more, but aside from wetting her finger, there was no change; she still stood in the bathroom, her brows furrowed tightly. Perhaps due to her confusion or the fact that she hadn't gazed into a mirror for quite some time, her reflection appeared somewhat unfamiliar.
She glanced at the clock on the mirror, which displayed 12:32 PM.
"That's strange," she mumbled, "Shouldn't I have been swallowed by the lava? Why isn't it working?"
Though she recognized the illogical nature of her thoughts, Lin Sanjiu decided to try once more by inserting her hand into the faucet. The chilly tap water splashed on her skin, causing a slight shiver—yet that was the extent of it.
"Do I need to put my hand into the drain?" she pondered, her voice tinged with uncertainty.
Despite the absurdity of the idea, Lin Sanjiu crouched down and attempted it. As expected, after nearly a minute of waiting, her condition remained unchanged, and her feet remained firmly planted in the bathroom.
For some inexplicable reason, the various circular volcanic vents that had devoured four individuals in succession seemed uninterested in her.
Even as she exited the bathroom, carrying Puppeteer's circular ring on her shoulder and Bohemia's bracelet in her palm, she remained perfectly intact, leading to a sense of mild irritation.
"Try converting them into cards," Mrs. Manas suggested. "Can you do it now?"
Lin Sanjiu half-heartedly attempted it—immediately, she stared in disbelief at the two cards in her hand, struggling to find the right words. "It actually worked," she muttered, "But... why?"
The silent duoluozhongs that roamed the streets provided no answers to her perplexing question.
"If I can't be swallowed by a volcanic vent," Lin Sanjiu muttered to herself, "at least I can be swallowed by lava... If that woman wasn't lying, then all the duoluozhongs should be filled with lava."
As long as she attacked one of them, she would be sent to the hospital, right?
This idea seemed brilliant to her, but when she mentioned it to Mrs. Manas, the latter made a long nasal sound, appearing doubtful and uncertain.
"What's wrong?" Lin Sanjiu asked, "Isn't being swallowed by lava the same whether it's from the bottle or from a duoluozhong?"
"In theory... it should be the same," Mrs. Manas said, "But... have you considered one thing?"
Mrs. Manas had a knack for catching things Lin Sanjiu subconsciously noticed and extracting valuable information, making her incredibly useful in such situations.
"Go on."
"Just now, that man and woman specifically tricked you into going upstairs, and for some reason, they wanted you to be swallowed by lava through their hands, right?" Mrs. Manas said. "No matter their reason for doing that, it's a bit of a detour. At that time, you were surrounded by duoluozhongs, right? As long as you randomly attacked one, the spewing lava could have swallowed you. In that case, they would have sent you into the lava themselves. Why bother deceiving you and end up with nothing?"
Lin Sanjiu hadn't considered that aspect. After all, both Sesame Cake and the bearded man should have had some long-range attack methods. They shouldn't have missed hitting the duoluozhongs around her who didn't know how to dodge.
"Are you suggesting that... if they tricked me into the circular ring for some reason, I would be swallowed and sent to the hospital, but if I attack a duoluozhong, even though I would still be swallowed by lava, there would be some difference compared to Bohemia and the others?"
"That's my suspicion," Mrs. Manas said, sighing. "After all, people killed by duoluozhongs are very likely to become duoluozhongs themselves... We can't rule out the possibility that the circular ring can send you to the hospital, while duoluozhongs can turn you into one of them."
After contemplating for a moment, Lin Sanjiu felt a bit disheartened. "Yes, the man and woman didn't want to kill me... If the lava spewed out by duoluozhongs can transform me into one of them, they might have refrained from attacking the duoluozhongs around me because they were concerned about this possibility."
With this line of thinking, another method was blocked. As she observed people walking around her with calm and indifferent faces, she felt a pang of frustration.
For some inexplicable reason, the circular ring refused to swallow her, and the risk of attacking the duoluozhongs was too great. What should she do next?
"In any case," after standing still for a few seconds, Lin Sanjiu made a decision, "I need to find a map first."
In the current darkness, she had to rely on Sesame Cake's information. Assuming that the comprehensive hospital truly existed before doomsday, it must be marked on a map.
Wandering the streets of Bear City, she strolled in the warm afternoon sunlight for dozens of minutes. Lin Sanjiu even had a strange sensation as if she had returned to the world before doomsday. These duoluozhongs behaved like well-programmed robots, going about their daily routines just as they would in normal times: men with briefcases walking on the road, cleaners sweeping the roadside garbage, and a girl sitting on a bus stop chair listening to music—after a while, a bus actually slowly pulled into the station.
If it weren't for their blank expressions and silence, any posthuman would probably believe this was a world six months before doomsday. On another note, Lin Sanjiu found herself perplexed by another aspect of this well-preserved world—even though it was filled with lava, the [Nostradamus Card] couldn't absorb the lava.
Could it be that it wasn't lava that destroyed this world? Then how were the duoluozhongs filled with lava created?
"Why is it so hard to find a map?"
After scouring a gas station and two convenience stores in vain, Lin Sanjiu couldn't help but let out a heavy sigh. She decided to take a break and sat on a bench by the roadside.
In the age when everyone relied on online maps, finding a physical map was indeed a challenge. Bear City, with its unremarkable appearance that didn't suggest it was a tourist destination, made the quest even more daunting. Lin Sanjiu rubbed her sore legs, preparing to stand up and resume her search. That's when a bespectacled man happened to pass by and silently took a seat beside her.
Another duoluozhong—
This thought barely had time to form when the man beside her said softly, "Have you finished registering?"
Lin Sanjiu turned her head abruptly, studying the man's profile intently.
He didn't appear to be a posthuman at all. Instead, he looked like a typical white-collar worker taking a lunch break—of course, a posthuman could also dress similarly in a shirt and dress pants, but Lin Sanjiu had seldom seen anyone wearing a work badge around their neck.
Could it be a Special Item?
After a few seconds of rapid contemplation, she sat still, her body tensed, and gave a vague response, "Not yet."
"Then don't waste time," the man said, raising his wrist to check his watch. "It's almost half past two."
Lin Sanjiu stole a glance at the badge on his chest, but unfortunately, due to the angle, she couldn't clearly read the words on it. She thought for a moment and refrained from asking what would happen at half past two and why they needed to register. Instead, she inquired vaguely, "Where is the registration place?"
"It's right behind us." The bespectacled man turned around and pointed over a small lawn beyond the bench, not far from an Indian restaurant. "Don't you know? Haven't you been looking for it?"
Coincidentally, the plastic holder of the badge gleamed brightly in the sunlight. Lin Sanjiu glanced a few times but still couldn't determine if it was a Special Item—or in other words, if this man was an upgraded duoluozhong.
"If you can't make it by half past two," the bespectacled man said, standing up, not giving her a chance to ask more questions, "You'll have to wait for a few more hours."
He turned around and walked away.
As she watched him disappear around the street corner, Lin Sanjiu sat on the bench, her furrowed eyebrows deepening.
After a few minutes, she abruptly rose from the bench, crossed the lawn in a few strides, and hurried towards the Indian restaurant. Her haste nearly caused her to collide with a duoluozhong that seemed to have materialized out of nowhere. Upon closer inspection, the wooden door of the restaurant was half-closed, and there was no light or sound emanating from inside.
She wrapped her hand with [Defense Forcefield], gently pushed open the door, and entered.
The restaurant appeared to have been abandoned for quite some time. The once-strong aroma of Indian cuisine had dissipated, leaving behind only the scent of dust and wood. At the entrance, there was a reception counter, but no receptionist was present. She approached it cautiously and peered over to find a thick, large book open on the counter.
On the opened page, a line was written: "Next round of Lava will commence at 2:30 PM. Please leave your name here for registration."